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Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

Yes sir he is. He actually should be in the friendly skys as we speak. If I am not mistaken. I will have to shoot him a text in a while to see. They Made him Sit in the flight attendants quarters since a mask is not permitted on the plane.

You mean I missed the TSA screen hilarity? Dammit!

"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel

"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Want your own "Just Say No to Kamen" from @mkroeger pic? http://twitpic.com/a3hmca

Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

I meant Boston as a place, not so much the quality of the new arena. Even with the loss of the original Garden, it's still a place full of Celtics fans and Celtics history. I hate the Celtics, their fans and their history, but I respect the idea of them.

Gotcha. Of all of the US cities that I haven't been to, Boston is probably at the top of my list. Would love to see Fenway too, even though I despise the Red Sox.

The only NFL games I've seen have been in Indy. I've seen baseball games in Cinergy and Great American in Cincy, AT&T in San Fran, and New Yankee Stadium. AT&T Park is absolutely beautiful right there on the Bay. I love New Yankee Stadium too, though a lot of people are critical of it. I never saw the old one though.

Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

Sorry it took a few days to hammer these out, but as some of you pointed out... My 4 game "on the road" streak is finally over. My wife is so happy too because she was thinking she was the jinx. Now, she is blaming Seth and Duke Dynamite for losses that happened on the road in her presence. Anyway, due to my phone's battery being on life support half the night my photos are extremely limited. As for being in Staples Center while the Pacers handled their business was just fantastic (not as good as going to the Sports Book this morning). Here are some shots that I did manage to get before my phone started laughing at me.

[b]A win on Chick Hearn night... One of my favorite broadcasters. It was nice to be in the building & see the Lakers honor him.

Banner City... From the gift shop all the way to stuff in the arena bowl you'd be hard pressed to find anything that says 2 other major league teams play in this building. The gift shop was beyond pathetic when it came to finding LA Kings or LA Clippers gear. The actual gift shop employee told me there was more across the street at the ESPN Zone.

This photo of Lisa (my wife) and myself was taken by Area55 member @indysportsgirl. It was really nice to meet here along with Justin Beck and his Aussie crew.

This Christmas tree is set up on this public ice skating rink. It's hard to see the rink from the temporary stage that was set up for the L.A. Symphony. Personally, It is one of the best I've ever seen. I love how the front of Staples, ESPN zone and the Nokia Theater make that grand public plaza. Kinda like the Fieldhouse and Georgia St... without the Harness Lofts Parking lot

The Final Score... Well, as for the Staples Center as a place to watch basketball... I personally liked it. I thought the lighting was perfect with it dark in the stands and the court lit up like a stage where basketball was the feature presentation. The building seems A LOT smaller than it does when viewed from TV, but I don't know about that balcony... Eventhough they are not as far away as it would seem... They are still UP a good bit with 3 layers of luxury suites separating them from the "club level".
I don't know what it was about the Staples Center organ, but it sounded like a real Stadium Organ in comparison to the too much treble, not enough bass Fairgrounds Fieldhouse Organ.
For many years, Peck and myself would make jokes about their P.A. announcer being layed back and low key, not the hype guys that we've grown so use to. He fits for the Lakers considering the fans and team know why their in business. No T-Shirt nonsense, No fool in sunglasses running around during timeouts screaming into the mic or this we wanna be a rock concert motif. The Lakers game day is about BASKETBALL!!! Not keeping the kiddos and non basketball fans entertained. I surely appreciated it! Staples Center gets 2 thumbs up.

Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

For many years, Peck and myself would make jokes about their P.A. announcer being layed back and low key, not the hype guys that we've grown so use to. He fits for the Lakers considering the fans and team know why their in business. No T-Shirt nonsense, No fool in sunglasses running around during timeouts screaming into the mic or this we wanna be a rock concert motif. The Lakers game day is about BASKETBALL!!! Not keeping the kiddos and non basketball fans entertained. I surely appreciated it! Staples Center gets 2 thumbs up.

BTW, the Laker Girls are good!

I love their PA guy. But then I like all the old time PA guys.

But it sounds like I would enjoy watching a Laker game. I just wish the pacers would do all of the above. And I love how they dim the lights except on the court. That is the way to do it

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Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

No T-Shirt nonsense, No fool in sunglasses running around during timeouts screaming into the mic or this we wanna be a rock concert motif. The Lakers game day is about BASKETBALL!!! Not keeping the kiddos and non basketball fans entertained. I surely appreciated it! Staples Center gets 2 thumbs up.

Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

I would really like to know why they don't or won't do it. I would guess some safety issues involved,till be bright enough and I am sure they could adjust it just right.

The answer might be "no" for X, Y and Z reasons, but might be worth sending a note to the Pacers about.

A few years ago the Redskins started surveys for certain fans (year one it was season ticket holders. Then I got another one for general fans. Regardless, it was a cool thing for the team to do). I did not expect anything to come of it, but for 2 or 3 years I suggested I suggested the Redskins do something to the Mavericks for a military appreciation day.

Sure enough, this past summer the team announced they were going to have a game (I think it may be this Mondays game against New York) where they have a whole section donated to military families.

Not saying it was only one suggestion, but what is the harm in asking?

Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

What did you think of the crowd? A lot of people have the thought that Lakers fans aren't good fans.

Well, the things that I always heard about Laker fans arriving late was pretty accurate in my eyes. The building was a li'l over half capacity at tip, but by about mid 1st quarter it looked sold out. As for the fans... I thought they were just typical "NBA" fans. They'd get up when the Lakers would make a run and at the end of the game Staples Center was "play-off loud". One thing that felt memorable was when Kobe had the ball, you'd hear this murmur in the crowd anticipating something was going to happen. It reminded me of how our crowds were with the ball in Reggie's hands in a tight ball game. At any rate, I wouldn't go into a Lakers game expecting the OKC crowd, but it wasn't the morgue that Conseco Fieldhouse was during the Jim O'Brien years. As for the individual fans around us down in the lower bowl behind the Pacers 2nd half basket, they actually took me pretty good for being the "Liquored Up Annoying Road Guy". Trust me, I was heard for every made Pacer basket. Most of the Laker fans around me kept telling me the game was "Kobe Close" and trust me... When Kobe hit that game tying shot... Oh did I ever hear it! Got pats on the back and a guy behind took my hat off and handed it to me. Good nature stuff though.

One thing I forgot... The ushers are very unforgiving when it comes to getting anywhere you're not suppose to be. After the game, I tried a few different ways to get down to speak with Mike Wells, Chris and Quinn (Something that I've always been able to do in any other venue) but was turned away. Considering that we have better seats in Sacramento & Oakland that shouldn't be a problem.

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Re: When Gnome Roams Naptown Will Follow (2012)

Well enjoy the weather if you do it. I spent 90 minutes waiting to leave Denver due to SFO weather and when we got to SFO it was good and rainy. I couldn't tell if there was also fog or just overcast. Either way I didn't get in to SFO till 12:30 their time which is a long day when you went to work at 7:30AM EST. And there was no free hotel shuttle after 12.

But I'm in and hitting the bed to get ready for the Gnome arrival and pickup tomorrow, and some sweet wine-buying cash thanks to the Pacers.